Grounded
by tigersbride
Summary: A different take on how Peter takes the news of his origins. one shot.


"I know, I know, I know. I can't lose him either." Olivia's hushed tones sounded exasperated. "But you don't understand Walter, I have to tell him, I can't not; he's my best friend"

"Olivia you don't know what this would mean to him! He'd leave! What about the Pattern... what if we can't work without him? I can't stay without him!" Walter's whispered pleas were getting more desperate with each syllable.

"I can't lie to him any more" she said quietly, simply. For Olivia, she was on the verge of losing everything, not least the man who kept her sane amongst the madness of her life; the only man she felt she could trust. She sighed and sat down in the Bishop's dining area. She had phoned ahead to ensure it would be Walter who answered the door- it was gone 1am but she knew that the older man would be as unable to sleep as she.

"I can see how you feel about each other" Walter began, evidently unsure how to phrase his strategy. "But how can you risk losing him if you love him?"

His straightforward question took her slightly for surprise and left a faint flush skating over her cheeks: she hadn't totally decided on her feelings for Peter yet herself, yet they were becoming more apparent each moment she spent in his company. "I don't know Walter. I don't know how I feel, I don't know what would happen to me if he left, I don't know how important he is to the pattern, but I do know that I can't keep this from him, not only is it unfair to him it's unfair to me. You gave me this 'gift', Walter".

Walter stared at the floor deflated, head in hands, sensing his defeat. "I never meant for any of this to happen", he stated, voice filled with tones of remorse and despair, spurring a wave of sympathy for Walter from Olivia, a man who had lost his son once before, and she was risking him again. Thuds on the stairs alerted them both as someone made their way into the kitchen.

"Olivia?" Peter was still half-asleep, which didn't help his confusion. "Olivia what are you doing here? It's late. And Walter, what are you doing up?" he blinked his eyes as they adjusted to the light change. "Wait... why are you both upset? What's going on?"

Olivia noted the concern in his eyes as he gazed from one to the other. "Peter" she said softly, feigning a smile. "This isn't the time, we'll talk tomorrow"

"Nah Liv, tell me, you can tell me" he grinned, walking toward her.

Her eyes began to well with tears as he approached. She averted her gaze as she tried to calm down, until she felt a hand on her arm. Her fear was so strong right now, that she could see his glimmer burning her eyes through the lids. "Peter... please don't" she whispered as the first tear glittered down. As Peter pulled Olivia into a hug, Walter stood and walked toward the stairs.

"Wait up Walter, you're not going anywhere. Not until you two tell me what's going on".

Peter was confused, it was almost 2am and here was Olivia, unexpected, uninvited, trying to suppress her tears in his arms, while Walter tried to disappear at every opportunity. "Enough. What the hell is going on?"- His concern ran clear in his tone.

He watched as Olivia and Walter shared a silent conversation; Olivia looked at Walter with pleading eyes until Walter finally gave a slight nod, and failed to repress a shudder.

"Peter" She choked, trying to smile at him. "Don't be scared, please, please just... just sit down a minute"

Peter obeyed his orders, keeping his hands firmly on her arms until she took them in her own soft hands.

"You'll always be the same person to me" she said as another tear fell, "Remember that... The thing is Peter, you... you glimmer".

The sentence hung in the air, nothing mattered except for it, for that moment not even he mattered. His world stopped turning, until, he realised, it wasn't even his world at all. Anger tried to erupt, but failed, just as every other emotion did. He didn't belong, so as far as he was concerned, nothing in this world should be able to affect him. That was, however, until Olivia tightened her grip on his hand. He noticed as her tears fell on his fingers, as her breath stroked his neck, and her heart beat hurriedly as she slowly inclined closer to him. She mattered. He didn't know how long he had been sat there, not speaking, but it seemed like forever ago that she had uttered the two simple words.

"Peter say something please I can't cope you're killing me" Olivia stuttered incoherently, shaking him out of his trance with her panicked tone.

"Like what?" He asked, eyes still staring into space. "Please Liv, tell me how to react to something like that, I really do not know what the hell to think right now, because everyone I knew and everyone that I felt..." at this point he turned his head so his eyes met her own water-filled ones "...doesn't make sense anymore, because I should never have known either of you, should I?"

"Peter" Walter whispered, ill at ease from the bitterness but nonchalance his usually fiery son was displaying. He decided to let him sleep on it. "Please don't hate me"

"It's okay, Walter. I'm not even surprised"

"We'll talk in the morning, I'm going to bed. I'm sorry, Son" he slowly took himself to his room.

When Walter had left, Peter turned his gaze back to Olivia, standing up to match her. He stroked the side of her face with his fingers, put both hands on her head, and pulled her into his shoulders, smelling a faint fruity aroma lingering in her hair from shampoo. Without thinking, he pressed his lips to the top of her head, immediately realising and awaiting an awkward moment. Instead, she raised her head just high enough to kiss his cheek, smiling slightly through her tears. He used one of his hands to brush the hair lightly out of her eyes, smiling back despite his uncertain future, and began to finish what that had in Jacksonville, leaning in and gently meeting her soft, eager mouth with his own. A sense of passion seemed to erupt in him, as he tightened his grip on her, pulling her towards him from the back of her waist. He kissed her neck with urgency, and she responded with a slight gasp. He took her hand and started to back toward the stairs before she stopped him. "You're not thinking straight, Peter" she sighed, finding it difficult to deny herself what she most wanted.

"I don't care Olivia, I want this" he responded, aiming a kiss at her mouth again, but being redirected to her cheek.

"I don't want it like this, if you're going to regret it" she backed away slowly, all the passion of before had leaked away, leaving only her hollow and exposed emotion. "Peter, I don't want this if you're going to decide you can't live with not being from here... if you're going to leave".

"Olivia... Liv... sweetheart... even I don't know what's going on in my head, it's late, and I can't think properly, but you're the one thing that's grounding me and making me_ need_ to stay in the first place, you make me feel like I _do_ belong, like I _am_ real, so I have to stay" he sighed "I don't understand myself so I'm sorry if I'm not making sense, but I can take just about anything except losing you, and if I have to lose you, if I'm going to be... I don't know, dragged back to where I came from, I can't go without you at least knowing how I felt about you, I just can't"

To this, she nodded, took his hand, and led him upstairs.

* * *

First attempt at writing anything in years. Hope it wasn't too straight to the point ;)


End file.
